Flavor is unexpected. Tart like sour apples with a rich molasses and honey malt and a mild hop bitterness.

Medium body with a light tingle of carbonation on the tongue.

A strange ale, not what I was expecting. I liked it okay but looking at other reviews, I wonder if I got an off one since my flavor experience seems pretty unique. It'll probably be a long while before I get to try one again so I'll just have to go off what I know. (560 characters)

The carbonation is pretty laid back, inert, even, the body on the lee side of medium weight, and kinf of tacky in its smoothness. It finishes on the sweet side, the caramel, nuts, and fruit abetted by a burgeoning menthol alcohol.

More of an amber ale than a pale ale, with a modicum of restraint in terms of the Minhas house um, flavour. Anyways, hardly an exemplar of the style, but I'm sure this kills in St. Croix. (972 characters)

Self listed as an amber ale. Malty aroma. Lots of white lace on yellow golden. A little astringent, and corn. Bitter, even a tad sour and not so drinkable. I could have this on a 100 Fahrenheit day in a pinch.Thanks for sharing Josh. The bitterness is not from hops, a little dry. (280 characters)

Mouthfeel: Nice, creamy texture that drinks very easily. A lingering bitterness rounds out this English style pale ale.

Drinkability: I expected much worse from this beer but it turned out to be a solid brew. It follows it's style guidelines perfectly, but doesn't offer anything too exciting. I would drink it if I ever visited the Virgin Islands. (671 characters)

They used to carry this stuff at Trader Joe's I believe. Kinda of a dull gold and light amber appearance, about 3/4" head to it. Aroma was lacking hops. I thought navy beers were highly hopped?

Hop character stays behind, pale and caramel malt smoothness plays first chair here. Easy drinking, even a little chewy. Do they use some of that caribbean traded molassesin here? No freshness date available. Mild sweetness. Not bad, not exceptional, pretty much right down the middle for this one. (493 characters)

T: Heavy cream, milk chocolate and a heavy dose of nutmeg. I've never encountered a beer like it, regardless of style. Big time malt with a touch of smoke. The hops provide a slight hint of bitterness on the finish that really ties the brew together.

M: Rich. Almost too much considering the ABV. It's well carbonated and sports a good deal of weight.

O: Virgin Island's Blackbeard Ale is such a unique beer. It doesn't drink or taste like an English Pale Ale, and though the ABV is low, it isn't sessionable because it's so jam packed with a heavy spice bill.

Worth knocking a couple back while living the Pirate lifestyle in the islands. (925 characters)

Pours a dark colden copper/amber color with golden orange hues when held to a light and a frothy one finger yellowish beige head that slowly settles into a lasting ring. Sporadic spots of lace left behind.

Medium bodied and much fuller than expected. Most of the carribean "craft" beers I've had so far have been slightly amped up macros/adjuncts but thi beer is pretty complex and well crafted. There a soft, crisp hop flavor up front that provides slight dryness/bitterness which lingers throughout over the sweet malt backbone into a dry finish. The hops are quickly countered mid-palate by a sweet malt backbone with hints of caramel, rye, toffee and biscuit. Very well balanced and although it's darker/heavier than expected, this beer is very quaffable in this tropical climate. (877 characters)

Shout out to Michelle for bringing this back from your vacation for me. Pours a mostly clear light brown color with a rich cap of fine-bubbled tan foam. Retention is good and lacing is moderate.

Smell is malted milk, cocoa and tart fruitiness. Not liking where this is heading, it does not smell very appetizing.

Taste is a bit better than the nose, but still has some oxidized cardboard and light fruit flavors. The malts are sweet and caramely, and there is a mild hop bitterness in the finish. Arrr...This does not seem to be a well brewed beer, matey...either that or this is an old bottle...both seem to be distinct possibilities. (637 characters)

12/8/2006. Recently visited St. Thomas and got the chance to sample this beer. Hard to give it a true rating... I mean I could have been drinking Bud and would have loved it. Matter of fact I did have a bud that day :-) Something about being on some island, in the sun and away from work that makes all things better. Blackbeard Ale - Amber/copper colored, quite smooth with a definite maltiness to it. Slight hopiness with caramel mixed in there. Good overall beer that could possibly use a little extra kick to it. Easy to drink. (531 characters)

Good dark amber color. Surprising actually because I had no idea what to expect. The beer was a gift and all the bottle says is Ale. I had no idea if it would be blond or dark. Dark amber it was.

Foam was decent but didn't stay to the end. Reminded me of some ales I've had in England (on a visit). Slightly fruity, perhaps currant/marmalade type flavors. Don't know if they came from the hops or the fermentation. This beer is also more sweet than hoppy/bitter. Good for one or two, but wouldn't want to drink more in one sitting due the sweetness.

No blatant off flavors, important for a beer from the tropics, although I could taste some pasteurization effects.

The taste is decent, although a lot of the subjective atmosphere is destroyed upon finding out the beer is actually from the states. At least thats the impression I get on the label "brewed under the supervision of VI Brewing Co. by VI Brewing Co., Cold Spring, MN." So the beer is apparently bottled in Minnesota....dissapointment. The beer itself is ok/good. I'd drink it again. (1,050 characters)

Light mouthfeel. maybe a step toward medium, but still appropriate for tropical consumption.

Good drinkability. Might need a water or two mixedin during a tropic session.

As tropical vacation beers go, not bad. Little sorry that the bottling is done on the mainland US though. Nice gift shop on St. Thomas.
If you're cruising through, make sure to give it a try. (748 characters)

From a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Clear amber-brownish color with no carbonation to speak of. Good one-finger head of tight creamy tan foam, slow fade down to a thick cap and ring, good lacing. Nice looking brew. Nose of faint molasses and light malts. Pretty subdued. Theres a definite molasses flavor along with a toasted malt flavor and a bit of smoke. The molasses-malt flavor is quite distinctive, a bit like spiced rum, which is probably what the brewers were going for with the Caribbean-styled ale. Theres a light bitter finish. Mouth is smooth, semi-creamy, with moderate carbonation, pleasant on the palate. Drinkability is good; its a tasty brew and feels good. Definitely sessionable.

Overall: Definitely something different, the molasses adds and intriguing element and is well-utilized. This one would be cool for a pirate-theme party or similar. Good conversation beer, and a good example of tweaking style. Best served a bit warm, this one is definitely worth a try for something a bit different. (1,026 characters)

Pours a dark amberish brown and clear with a small off white head. Aroma is of fresh toast, a nice sweet malty breadiness. Taste shows some sprite like sweetness but not overpowering, biscuity, and a decent dry hoppy grassiness in the finish that also shows some burnt rubber qualities. Light to medium body is balanced by a small spiciness on the tongue from the hops. Brought a sixer of this back home. This beer was a nice local find on vacation (in a pretty barren beer area) and a decent change of pace after other 'locals' such as Presidente and Carib. (558 characters)

glowing crystal amber with bubbles rising.. taut head with fiery wisps of solid lace. not quite the fizzy yellow mess i was expecting from a VI brew.

very nice aroma of caramel malts, accented aggressively by a salty, fresh-baked pretzel note. something slightly yeasty in the end, but overall this beer screams bock in the nose. are we sure this is an english pale ale? i think someone needs to check their facts on this one.

easy drinking and appropriately sweet.. perhaps a bit metallic in the end. definitely some super dark fruits, date mash and fig compote, in the initial sip. finishes with a bit of candy corn and the taste of human blood.. which is never good. could this be due to the excessively cold temperature this beer reached on my doorstep? quite possible, but the brew has potential either way. warmth actually helps to quell this off note, and bring out the milk chocolate-meets-caramel nuttiness that defines these types of brews. not much to say about this beer in terms of complexity, but it surely surpassed my expectations. would revisit, would be especially excited to find this brew when/if stranded in the virgin islands. (1,207 characters)

"Blackbeard's journal states that confusion and plotting developed if his men were sober. But all was calm when they had enough ale."

--Blackbeard Ale neck label

Fiery bronze-like orange with polished brass highlights; the perfect color for a pirate ale. The orange-tinted beige cap is the picture of quality as well. It's softly creamy, displays a blunted mesa as it melts, and deposits ragged rings of lace on the glass. So far, so good.

If you like balanced noses on your pale ales, then this one should be right up your alley. There's a suggestion of caramel malt, along with a whiff of butter and a handful of musky, earthy, undoubtedly English, hops. The aroma is okay, but is nothing to shout about.

That's pretty much how I feel about the flavor as well. The first thing that strikes me is how tart it is. Not overly so, but more so than in most beer of this style. Sweet, bitter and sour effectively cancel one another out, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It does keep the beer from having a flavor hook though, and keeps it from having a distinctive personality.

I'll still go with a mixture of pale and caramel malts (Munich too?) and I haven't changed my mind about the English hops. More hop flavor and more hop bitterness would definitely be a good thing. A cargo hold's worth of Fuggles would fix this sucker right up. Buttered toast still comes to mind, although it isn't as buttery as I had feared.

While there isn't anything special about the mouthfeel, there isn't anything wrong with it either. It falls into the broad range of acceptable for the style in that it's light-medium and is judiciously carbonated.

Blackbeard Ale is a decent enough English pale ale. Too bad it isn't an 8% English strong ale with overtones of (yo ho ho and a bottle of) rum. Now that's a beer that I could sink my teeth into. I'd like to thank my WTF (World Traveling Friend) for bringing me this bottle from the Virgin Islands. Long may she roam. (1,958 characters)